Broking success: Retaining independence and recruiting fresh talent

How did you end up in insurance?

Castlemead is a family business set up by my father, David Ingleby.

It began as a joint venture with accountants in 1987, and then I joined post A levels and took over as managing director in 2006. 

Eventually, we bought out the accountants and various partners.

Why did you stay with the firm?

The business is very different to what it was like at the start. First, it had around seven people – we are now at 23.

The thing with insurance, if you’re interested, as it gives you options to grow into areas that you find the most stimulating. 

I sit on the committee of the Global Broker Network, which we joined in 2016, and we have clients all over the world.

Insurance might be perceived as something that people don’t really want, but if you take an interest in a client’s business and you really get to know all about it, then it can be very fulfilling.

Insurance might be perceived as something that people don’t really want, but if you take an interest in a client’s business and you really get to know all about it, then it can be very fulfilling.

Why is it important for Castlemead to remain an independent broker

Our clients are typically family owned firms, and they like the accountability of what an owner-managed business can bring to them. 

The market has become so distribution focused that you have to be able to sub-broke certain risks, and we sub-broke certain risks to the likes of Marsh and Gallagher. 

We’re not the biggest broker in the country by any form, but by joining the Brokerbility camp we can get access to the key decision-makers, which makes it easier.

What challenges have you faced in the current insurance market?

There are some obvious things that have challenged the insurance market. 

We must get younger people involved in the sector; excite them as to why insurance is a good place to be. There are some fairly handsome salaries floating around, so you can earn well if you’re happy to be knowledgeable in insurance. 

We have taken on six people under the age of 30 in the past six months. We decided that actually we need to be investing in youth. It’s not a new strategy, but it does seem to be one the industry has ignored for decades.

What have been the benefits of joining Brokerbility?

They are a like-minded bunch of insurance brokers and have got significant influence on what goes on. 

We resisted joining a ‘buying group’ until relatively recently because we have been able to be a strong regional player, and insurers have given us bandwidth. However, [with Brokerbility] we can get access to key decision-makers, which is helpful. We also get some discounts in terms of supply chains.

Where would you like to see Castlemead this time next year?

We have been growing between 10% and 20% for the past five years. There’s no shortage of clients who want advice and things that need to be solved for them. 

With the prices that brokers are trading at, I don’t see us being in the market for buying a business because they are just too expensive and we’re not a venture capitalist-based business.

We want to be the go-to broker in the South West eventually, acting as a full-service risk management consultancy.

Having said that we would anticipate to continue growing by a rate that is above market inflation.

We want to be the go-to broker in the South West eventually, acting as a full-service risk management consultancy. We have a subsidiary in France, so we have international capabilities. It gives us access to the EU post Brexit. 

We are also hopeful of attracting a few more people who can really make a difference.

How would you like to see the insurance broking space developing in the future?

It’s not just about collecting the premiums at the front end and enjoying the commissions; we actually need to sell pieces of paper and promises that work. 

We don’t need the Financial Conduct Authority to tell us how to do that. We need to provide value to our customers – and we need to do better.

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